News and commentary on Caribbean culture, literature, and the arts

August 19, 2010

Reggae Song to Help Bring Solar Power to Rural Health Clinics in Haiti

The Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) and Partners in Health (PIH) just announced that Grammy-winning reggae band Steel Pulse will donate all proceeds from their new song Hold on [4 Haiti] to the solar electrification of PIH clinics in Haiti. Hold On [4 Haiti] was written by lead singer David Hindsimmediately after the January 12th quake that devastated Haiti. “We wanted to make a difference on the ground,” explains Hinds. “That’s why we did this song with the Solar Electric Light Fund and Partners in Health.”

Steel Pulse has launched a new website, www.holdon4haiti.org, where the song is available for download on a donation basis. One hundred percent of donations received will benefit Haiti.

Mr. Hinds said: “Because the initial media coverage has waned considerably, we want to revitalize the focus on Haiti’s plight. We wrote “Hold On [4 Haiti]” to support the people of Haiti through the work being done by The Solar Electric Light Fund and Partners In Health. We’ve got to make a real difference on the ground — that’s what this project is all about.”

“Steel Pulse’s ‘Hold On [4 Haiti]’ is a song of hope,” said SELF’s executive director, Robert Freling. “Our hope is that we can solar-electrify all 12 hospitals and health centers for Partners In Health in Haiti. We were already working on electrifying PIH clinics, but in the wake of the earthquake we’ve been requested by PIH to accelerate our timeline for bringing solar power to all of their sites in Haiti.”

Dr. Paul Farmer, co-founder of Partners In Health, has been an advocate for the Solar Health Care Partnership between the two organizations from the very beginning, when SELF worked on electrifying PIH clinics in Africa. “We know that solar energy is self-replenishing and sustainable. It works for us in Africa, and we want to use it across all our facilities in Haiti; diesel is already in short supply and will likely become even more difficult to obtain as time goes by,” said Dr. Farmer. “This song by Steel Pulse serves as a reminder that we stand with the people of Haiti in solidarity and compassion.”

The Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit working to combat climate change and reduce energy poverty by bringing solar power and wireless Internet access to remote rural villages in the developing world. SELF has pioneered innovative applications of solar power for drip irrigation in Benin, telemedicine in the Amazon rainforest, vaccine refrigeration in Rwanda, online distance learning in South Africa, and microenterprise development in Nigeria. These successful pilot projects culminated in SELF’s whole-village approach, or Solar Integrated Development model. Since 1990, SELF has completed projects in 20 countries, making it a leader among non-governmental organizations in realizing practical and cost effective alternative energy solutions for rural villagers.